From Emergency Message EM-24033 Disability Collateral Estoppel Policy – Change of Position
This emergency message (EM) announces the agency’s change of position (CoP) on the use of collateral estoppel to adopt prior disability determinations and decisions. ...
Beginning 7/13/2024, we will adopt our prior favorable finding of disability in a subsequent claim by the same individual for a different disability benefit or SSI payments if, in our prior final determination or decision, we have already decided that the individual is disabled for the period in question and all of the following criteria are met:
1. Both the prior determination or decision and new claim require application of the same statutory definition of disability.2. We have not made an intervening medical determination or decision finding that the individual’s disability ceased.
3. The individual has not engaged in substantial gainful activity since the prior established onset date (EOD).
4. The EOD in the prior claim is on or before the date when the nonmedical requirements for entitlement are last met in the new claim.
5. The record with the prior favorable disability determination or decision is not in terminated status.
6. We do not have reason to believe that the prior disability determination or decision was wrong. ...
I don't have the energy today to try to explain the concept of collateral estoppel in the Social Security world. If you don't already know you probably aren't interested in this change anyway. I'll just say that this is a modest change that helps a few claimants and which saves some work at Social Security. I never knew any reason why the policy was changed before other than generalized hostility to Social Security disability claimants.
6 comments:
The reason it was changed is because field office staff were applying it incorrectly at such a high error rate that things were turned over to DDS.
It is more complicated than this.
The reason it all exploded in 2019 was NOT that the policy changed. It really did not. The difference was that the policy was applied to mental impairment cases as a result of the listing changes in 2017. Previous listing changes were relatively "small." (e.g. obesity).
The one significant change was that DDS made Collateral Estoppel decisions instead of the field office.
I have spent a lot of time on this issue and happy to discuss off list.
This is a win for the efficiency of Claims Specialist and DDS workloads, and a big win for claimants, predominantly those on SSI who work enough to meet insured status or become potentially entitled to Disabled Adult Child benefits.
@9:19 That was classic HQ inanity - rather than clarify policy, or provide appropriate training to the MINORITY of Claims Specialists who improperly applied the policy, the “solution” had all the subtlety and wisdom of the Monty Python Mosquito Hunters.
And in true agency fashion training on the new policy came out the day AFTER it became effective.
This is the biggest win for SSI recipients who become entitled to Title II benefits (disability or Disabled Adult Child).
And in actual true agency fashion, they announced the (eventual) change months before making it official with supporting policy, making every potential Collateral Estoppel case we had to do an hour of full medical development on in the interim feel that much more pointless.
All in all, still a win.
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